What Color Paint Should I Use?

We all know that one of the simplest ways to update a space is with a can of paint. The question remains however about what color of paint to use. If you're selling your home this is an especially important decision.

One of the first things you should do is to research your area and see what other people are using. Look at the homes for sale and see what colors are being used in areas like kitchens and dens. These will be great colors for you to consider.

Did you know that all colors have undertones? All grays have a tint to them like blue, green or even purple. This is true for all colors. Make sure that the color you choose doesn't highlight something you weren't planning on.

Your paint colors should enhance the colors in the room that are part of the fixed materials.  Pay attention to the wood finishes, countertops and tile.  These fixed materials will probably not be changed. Don't pick a color that will compete.

Now let's think about the finish. Do you want a semi-gloss or a matte finish. Semi-gloss is the most durable but it will also show imperfections in your walls. A matte finish is less durable but can hide some of the imperfections.

When you choose a color remember that colors can create emotions. A bedroom should be calm and relaxing so you might want to choose a warmer tone that makes the room feel cozy. A color that's more energetic can be used in the kitchen.  Cooler colors can make a room look larger and warmer colors can make a room look smaller.

When you choose an outside paint color, choose one that keeps in character with your neighborhood. Using tones of tan, light gray or beige can make your home look larger.

Warm colors are inviting and can give a home a little more character but bold colors may turn buyers away. Keep the ceilings and trim white to five things a clean, fresh look.

Thinking of Spring

Even though the first day of winter has not even arrived, I'm starting to dream of spring. I'm thinking of green grass, flowers and of course sunshine and warm weather.

One of the interesting ideas that I just came across was to paint a faux floor rug on your deck. Oh, this one has me thinking.What ideas are you dreaming about for srping?

Kitchen Cabinets

If you think you'd like to do a kitchen upgrade that's really noticeable and fresh looking, consider making a change to your cabinets. There are several things that you can do for an updated look.

Paint - You can change the color of the cabinets so that  it creates the illusion of new cabinets. A lighter color will make the entire kitchen look brighter and more spacious.

Refinish or re-laminate - If you like the natural look, you can sand and varnish the cabinets to make the kitchen look warm and inviting. If the cabinets are laminated, they can be covered with wood or vinyl veneers.

Create open shelving - Remove the cabinet doors and create open shelving. It will create space and allow your dishes to become part of your decorating scheme.

New hardware - This is one of the easiest things that you can do yourself. New drawer pulls or handles on doors can provide an instant upgrade. There is a wide variety of styles and materials available.

Anastasia Faiella

This woman used to be a painter, now an interior designer. I see how that can work for a visual artist.

her website:  http://faiella-design.com

How to steal art like an artist

Austin Kleon is a writer, and I've seen this posted by others twice this week, so here it is. Awesome. I love this!

I think I should stick to little sketches instead of writing. I'm not a wordsmith, and I love to doodle.

Self Portrait 2011

I have been doing self portraits each year for about 7 years now, and plan to continue. I recently heard Anne Petty speak and she says whenever she is stuck, she makes a self portrait. She jokes, "I am always available to pose". Above is my long journey to the final piece. It began as a still life, studying different yellow objects, since I had completed the blue objects still life, and wanted to see how yellow behaved in light and shadow, on metal, plastic and cloth...

Self Portrait

I was thinking of doing a self portrait (it's that time of year) of me, refleced in the mirror, with my mom in her hospital bed behind me...

On second thought, perhaps I'll just do my face. In a mirror. On a chest of drawers:

Latest sketch/painting in progress:

Fabric and Painting

Gary Faigin showed his Still Life Painting Atelier last week how to render fabric, and how to determine what folds and wrinkles should be not included to make the image read well.

Wood and Relations

My father was a cabinet maker for 36 years. We lived in a house with exotic woods. I joke with my siblings that we should "part out" the house when we sell it, because the wood is now so precious and who could love it as much as we did? ( my siblings are horrified by this suggestion, by the way).

Here is an article in Dwell magazine about a guy who kept all the wood (plywood, mostly, not very exotic) from his grandmother's house in Poland.

Cymric Silver

It's really gray, but this color was suggested by a friend/designer and it is on all the walls and ceilings of our house. It looks so fabulous!

Paint color Here

Here is a drawing of brocade fabric I started on the final day of Margaret Davidson's class on drawing drapery.

This drawing I worked on for about six hours on day two of the workshop. Margaret is an excellent instructor!

Garden Creatures

Here's a creature I painted while thinking of insects as weapons, against pests and other things in the garden.

Ant

How fun was this? Super fun. Gary Faigin's book, the Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression is the basis for his class. Above, notes on the board from day one of a five day workshop. GAGE is the school that Gary started with is wife, Pamela.

Painting White Objects

OH MY ***! I have enrolled in the still life atelier program studying with Gary Faigin, painting still life. I have just discovered how much I do not know about painting, or even looking at things. It's an eye opening experience. Fun. School all day for a woman in her 50s is sometimes quite exhausting. Above an image of some white objects as I work on a painting. Here are some images from other students in the atelier.

Bad Builder Neighbor

I know this is just a sample...of the current times. This home builder just stopped working. I hope this builder sends his/her crews back around to finish the job, or at least take a dump run.

Color Creativity

Dyeing Fabric in a friend's art studio took a day and many pieces of fabric. Some of us painted the dyes onto paper, others dyed fabric. Much fun, thanks Karen!

Contractor Cleans Up!

Wow! This man did an amazing job on the repair to the holes in my walls after the plumbing repair, and best of all, he cleaned up after himself. I love that. If every contractor did that, I'd be so much happier with the jobs they did.

Seeing Art

I recently took a class from Rita Natarova and it changed how I look at things. Granted, had I ever studied art formally, I would have learned this type of thinking and looking that the old masters used and students are taught, but, I'm a renegade, and have just lurched along, making art my way, and wondering why some of the things I make don't end up looking like I ha imagined.

There are edges, hard sharp edges of things, and soft edges, and shades of light to dark that I hadn't really notices before, and when artists hold out their paintbrushes and squint at things, I never really knew what they were doing. In fact, I was embarrased to ask in the class. Rita said, don't guess...everything is in front of you, just measure it. (How?)

Here are two pieces I made one before Rita's class, and one after, both worked on from the same sketch. I am improving! It's not too late to teach an old dog....

Art Class

Wow. I've been making art most of my life. My older cousin Dean threatened to hit me REALLY hard if I went outside the lines in his coloring book. I remember being quite frightened that he would notice I did get a speck out of the lines, so I outlined the entire picture with black crayon. I later decided I couldn't draw, so started making cartoons, and eventually gave up my arty self to my sister Anita, who I said was the artist of the family. I took a class about twenty years ago, based on the book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards. A local gal taught the class and he changed how I think about things. Everything we render as an artist is merely a shape...





Now, I have taken another class, at Gage Academy of Art, in Seattle, and a wonderful, talented artist named Rita Natarova, has changed how I look at things again. I learned about edges, and how to render a drawing or painting with very little on the page. Well, I must say I learned how it's done. If I practice, I hope one day to be able to do it. Wow. Learning something new every twenty years. I highly recommend it.